Mora puts Falcons' 46-point loss in perspective

FLOWERY BRANCH - Jim Mora was in his first year as secondary coach with San Francisco in 1997 when the 49ers brought an 11-game winning streak to Arrowhead Stadium.

Though the season would continue six more weeks before ending one game from the Super Bowl, the Niners hardly looked like a great team on that dreadful November day. Kansas City beat them 44-9 in a game that seemed to end as soon as they stepped off the bus.

"They just put one on us, much like yesterday," Mora said Monday. "And we came back, we made it to the NFC championship game where we lost to Green Bay."

Jim Mora, now a first-year head coach with Atlanta, wants his Falcons to realize the 56-10 embarrassment _ the third-worst loss in franchise history - doesn't have to define their season. The Chiefs are a proud franchise, and their record would now stand at 1-5 without an ambush of Atlanta.

Instead, the Falcons fell to 5-2 but still lead the NFC South by two games over New Orleans and three over Tampa Bay. Mora thinks his players have the right mindset to move forward.

"They won't get into a pattern where they think, 'Woe is me,' and 'How are we ever going to recover?' " Mora said. "I kind of started to feel that on the plane yesterday going home. I walked back in back, and it wasn't jovial by any means, but guys were talking about Denver and getting back to work and what they can do better."

Atlanta's injury list could grow shorter by Sunday, when they visit the Broncos for the first time since losing 42-14 in Week 2 of 2000. Tight end Eric Beverly, a central figure as a blocker in the running game, could return for the first time since separating his shoulder against Detroit three weeks ago. The Falcons went 1-for-11 on third down as their season percentage, already the NFL's lowest, plummeted nearly five points below No. 31 Chicago.

Equally important is the status of cornerback Aaron Beasley, who missed the Kansas City game after hurting his foot on a potential game-saving pass-breakup the week before against San Diego. Beasley, a nine-year veteran in his first season with the Falcons, is skilled enough to play free safety, a position that suffered immensely with Cory Hall sidelined last week.

Hall has a walking boot on his right foot and probably won't return until the Buccaneers visit the Georgia Dome Nov. 14 following Atlanta's bye week. Kevin McCadam started in Hall's place against the Chiefs and struggled in all phases of the game.

Mora made no mention of McCadam's performance, given how the entire defense - all players and coaches - failed to solve Kansas City's "student-body sweep," a play that helped running backs Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock combine for 229 yards and an NFL single-game rushing record of eight touchdowns.

"We kept getting out-flanked," Mora said. "We just got out of whack on gap control. I don't think as a defense we played with the type energy we played with in the first six games."

To compensate for Hall's injury, the team re-signed rookie safety Etric Pruitt from the practice squad Monday night. Pruitt has appeared only as a special teams player in the 17-point win at Carolina Oct. 3. He takes the roster spot of cornerback Mike Echols, whom Atlanta placed on waivers.

Mora believes starting middle linebacker Chris Draft will practice when players return Wednesday to begin installing the game plan for Denver. He has missed the last two weeks with turf toe.

Starting defensive tackle Rod Coleman likely needs two more weeks to recover from the knee injury he sustained in a single-car accident Oct. 16.

"(If) nothing happens to anyone this week, we should be close to full strength going into the second half of the season, which is where we want to be," Mora said. "And I don't think the bye could come at any better time for us. When you looked at it early in the season, you said, 'Boy, (a) bye at mid-season? Perfect.' And I still feel that way."